Operating mode switching method, wireless sensor and system

ABSTRACT

A method of switching an operating mode of a wireless sensor includes determining, once a wireless sensor has entered a normal operating mode, whether physiological parameters are detected by the wireless sensor within a predetermined time period; and when no physiological parameters are detected by the wireless sensor within the predetermined time period, automatically controlling the wireless sensor to switch from the normal operating mode into a power saving mode.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation-in-part of PCT Application No.PCT/CN2016/076430, filed Mar. 15, 2016, for OPERATING MODE SWITCHINGMETHOD, WIRELESS SENSOR AND SYSTEM, which is incorporated herein byreference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to wireless sensors and in particular toan operating mode switching method and system involving a wirelesssensor.

BACKGROUND

Power saving has always been a crucial goal in the development ofportable electronic products. A power saving design not only bringsenergy savings, but also allows the entire product to achieve a betterbalance in terms of volume, weight, and endurance. To achieve lowerpower consumption, many new wearable wireless sensors now use variouspower saving techniques at the functional level. Such techniquesinclude, for example, greatly reducing the sampling rate and thecommunication interval, reducing sampling accuracy, a plurality of lowpower consumption modes, and switching various function modules on andoff as needed. However, these approaches either sacrifice performance orrequire more user participation to cause the product to enter a lowpower consumption mode, making the product more complicated to use.

SUMMARY

Various embodiments of the present disclosure include an operating modeswitching method, a wireless sensor, and related system, which can entera power-saving mode without any participation of a user, thereby greatlyimproving the user experience.

In one embodiment, an operating mode switching method includes thefollowing steps: once the wireless sensor has entered a normal operatingmode, determining whether at least one physiological parameter isdetected by the wireless sensor within a first predetermined timeperiod; and, when the at least one physiological parameter is notdetected by the wireless sensor within the first predetermined timeperiod, automatically controlling the wireless sensor to switch from thenormal operating mode to a low power consumption mode.

In one embodiment, the operating mode switching method further includes:once the wireless sensor has entered the low power consumption mode,determining whether the at least one physiological parameter is detectedby the wireless sensor at an interval of a second predetermined timeperiod; and, when the at least one physiological parameter is detectedby the wireless sensor, automatically controlling the wireless sensor toswitch from the low power consumption mode to the normal operating mode.

The low power consumption mode may include a standby mode and a sleepmode. When the at least one physiological parameter is not detected bythe wireless sensor within the first predetermined time period, themethod includes automatically controlling the wireless sensor to switchfrom the normal operating mode to a low power consumption. When the atleast one physiological parameter is not detected by the wireless sensorwithin the first predetermined time period, the method includesautomatically controlling the wireless sensor to switch from the normaloperating mode to the standby mode.

In one embodiment, the operating mode switching method further includesthe following steps: once the wireless sensor has entered the standbymode, detecting whether the wireless sensor meets a first condition or asecond condition at an interval of a second predetermined time period,wherein the first condition is a power-off condition, and the secondcondition is detecting the at least one physiological parameter; whenthe wireless sensor meets the first condition, automatically controllingthe wireless sensor to switch from the standby mode to the sleep mode;and when the wireless sensor meets the second condition, automaticallycontrolling the wireless sensor to switch from the standby mode to thenormal operating mode.

The operating mode switching method may further include the steps of:once the wireless sensor has entered the sleep mode, detecting whetherthe wireless sensor meets a power-on condition; and, when the wirelesssensor meets the power-on condition, automatically controlling thewireless sensor to switch from the sleep mode to the standby mode.

In one embodiment, the power-on condition may include at least one of:detecting that a motion intensity is greater than a predeterminedthreshold, detecting a body contact, detecting that a change inbrightness is greater than a predetermined value, detecting a change inpressure, detecting a change in audio, and detecting a change intemperature.

In one embodiment, a wireless sensor may include: a physiologicalparameter collecting unit and a physiological parameter processing unitconnected to the physiological parameter collecting unit. Thephysiological parameter collecting unit may collect at least onephysiological parameter. The physiological parameter processing unit mayperform the following steps: once the wireless sensor has entered anormal operating mode, determining whether at least one physiologicalparameter is detected by the wireless sensor within a firstpredetermined time period; and when the at least one physiologicalparameter is not detected by the wireless sensor within the firstpredetermined time period, automatically controlling the wireless sensorto switch from the normal operating mode to a low power consumptionmode.

In one embodiment, the physiological parameter processing unit mayfurther perform the following steps: once the wireless sensor hasentered the low power consumption mode, determining whether the at leastone physiological parameter is detected by the wireless sensor at aninterval of a second predetermined time period; and when the at leastone physiological parameter is detected by the wireless sensor,automatically controlling the wireless sensor to switch from the lowpower consumption mode to the normal operating mode.

In one embodiment, the low power consumption mode includes a standbymode and a sleep mode; when the at least one physiological parameter isdetected by the wireless sensor within the first predetermined timeperiod, the physiological parameter processing unit automaticallycontrolling the wireless sensor to switch from the normal operating modeto the low power consumption mode includes: when the at least onephysiological parameter is not detected by the wireless sensor withinthe first predetermined time period, the physiological parameterprocessing unit automatically controlling the wireless sensor to switchfrom the normal operating mode to the standby mode; and thephysiological parameter processing unit may further perform thefollowing steps: once the wireless sensor has entered the standby mode,detecting whether the wireless sensor meets a first condition or asecond condition at an interval of a second predetermined time period,wherein the first condition is a power-off condition, and the secondcondition is detecting the at least one physiological parameter; andwhen the wireless sensor meets the first condition, automaticallycontrolling the wireless sensor to switch from the standby mode to thesleep mode; and when the wireless sensor meets the second condition,automatically controlling the wireless sensor to switch from the standbymode to the normal operating mode.

In one embodiment, the physiological parameter processing unit furtherperforms the following steps: once the wireless sensor has entered thesleep mode, detecting whether the wireless sensor meets a power-oncondition; and when the wireless sensor meets the power-on condition,automatically controlling the wireless sensor to switch from the sleepmode to the standby mode.

In one embodiment, the wireless sensor further includes at least one of:an inertial sensor, an electric field sensor, a light sensor, a pressuresensor, an audio sensor, and a temperature sensor; and the power-oncondition includes at least one of the following conditions: a motionintensity detected by the inertial sensor is greater than apredetermined threshold, a body contact is detected by the electricfield sensor, a change in brightness detected by the light sensor isgreater than a predetermined value, a pressure detected by the pressuresensor changed, an audio signal detected by the audio sensor changed,and a temperature detected by the temperature sensor changed.

In one embodiment, the wireless sensor further includes a power supplyunit, a multi-protocol communication unit and a memory, wherein themulti-protocol communication unit supports a first communicationprotocol and a second communication protocol, and the physiologicalparameter processing unit automatically controls the multi-protocolcommunication unit to switch a communication protocol from the firstcommunication protocol to the second communication protocol whendetecting that the power supply unit can acquire power from a chargingstation, and transfes data stored in the memory to the charging stationover the second communication protocol when detecting that the wirelesssensor establishes a communication connection with the charging station.

In one embodiment, the physiological parameter processing unit switchesthe communication protocol of the wireless sensor from the secondcommunication protocol to the first communication protocol whendetecting that the wireless sensor meets a switching condition.

In one embodiment, the switching condition includes at least one of thefollowing conditions: the wireless sensor has completed datatransmission; the communication connection between the wireless sensorand the charging station is interrupted; and the wireless sensor failsto acquire power from the charging station.

In one embodiment, a system may include a wireless sensor, whichautomatically switches from the normal operating mode to a low powerconsumption mode when the wireless sensor determining that, under anormal operating mode, the at least one physiological parameter is notdetected within a first predetermined time period; and supporting afirst communication protocol and a second communication protocol, thewireless sensor automatically switches a communication protocol from thefirst communication protocol to the second communication protocol, whendetecting that power can be acquired from a charging station under thenormal operating mode or the low power consumption mode, and transfersstored data to the charging station over the second communicationprotocol when establishing a communication connection with the chargingstation; and the charging station, supporting the second communicationprotocol and a third communication protocol, once having established thecommunication connection with the wireless sensor over the secondcommunication protocol, receiving the data transferred by the wirelesssensor, and transferring the received data to an external electronicdevice over the third communication protocol.

In one embodiment, when the wireless sensor is under the low powerconsumption mode, the wireless sensor determines whether the at leastone physiological parameter is detected at an interval of a secondpredetermined time period; and when the at least one physiologicalparameter is detected, the wireless sensor automatically switches fromthe low power consumption mode to the normal operating mode, wherein thelow power consumption mode includes a standby mode and a sleep mode;and, when the wireless sensor is under the standby mode, the wirelesssensor detects whether a first condition or a second condition is met atan interval of the second preset time period, and when the firstcondition is met, the wireless sensor automatically switches from thestandby mode into the sleep mode; and when the second condition is met,the wireless sensor automatically switches from the standby mode intothe normal operating mode, wherein the first condition is a power-offcondition, and the second condition is detecting the at least onephysiological parameter; and when the wireless sensor detects that thepower-on condition is met under the sleep mode, the wireless sensorautomatically switches from the sleep mode into the standby mode.

In one embodiment, the wireless sensor further includes at least one of:an inertial sensor, an electric field sensor, a light sensor, a pressuresensor, an audio sensor, and a temperature sensor; and the power-oncondition includes at least one of the following conditions: a motionintensity detected by the inertial sensor is greater than apredetermined threshold, a body contact is detected by the electricfield sensor, a change in brightness detected by the light sensor isgreater than a predetermined value, a pressure detected by the pressuresensor changed, an audio signal detected by the audio sensor changed,and a temperature detected by the temperature sensor changed.

In one embodiment, the wireless sensor switches a communication protocolfrom the second communication protocol to the first communicationprotocol when the wireless sensor still meets the switching condition.

The switching condition may include at least one of the followingconditions: the wireless sensor has completed data transmission, thecommunication connection between the wireless sensor and the chargingstation is interrupted, and the wireless sensor fails to acquire powerfrom the charging station.

In the present disclosure, when no physiological parameter is detected,the wireless sensor is automatically controlled to switch from thenormal operating mode to the low power consumption mode. In other words,when the wireless sensor is not actually used, it enters a power-savingmode to save power. Therefore, without any participation of a user, thewireless sensor can automatically enter the power-saving mode, so thatthe power is saved, thereby greatly improving the user experience.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of an operating mode switching method;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an operating mode switching method;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an operating mode switching method;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an operating mode switching method;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a wireless sensor; and

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present applicationwill be described below clearly and comprehensively in conjunction withthe drawings of the embodiments of the present disclosure. Theembodiments described are merely some embodiments of the presentdisclosure and are not all possible embodiments. Based on theembodiments presented herein, all other embodiments that would beobtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without expendinginventive effort shall all fall within the scope of protection of theclaims herein.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of an operating mode switching method applied to awireless sensor according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.The wireless sensor may be a wearable wireless sensor, and may include awireless sensor that can sense a physiological parameter, such as anelectrocardiogram parameter and/or the respiratory rate. The method mayinclude the following steps.

Step 100: once the wireless sensor has entered a normal operating mode,determining whether at least one physiological parameter (hereinafterreferred to as the physiological parameter) is detected by the wirelesssensor within a first predetermined time period. The physiologicalparameter may include one or a combination of an electrocardiogram lead,an electrocardiogram QRS wave, an oximetry pulse wave, a blood pressurepulse wave, a body temperature, an electroencephalogram waveform, acardiogram, a respiratory wave, a respiratory gas concentration change,etc. A physiological parameter collecting unit of the wireless sensormay be composed of one or more different collecting modules, forexample, the collecting modules may be electrocardiogram electrodes, andtemperature sensors, etc., so as to collect different physiologicalparameters.

Under the normal operating mode, core functions of the wireless sensorare all turned on, for example, functions of collection, analysis,storage, wireless transmission, etc., such that the power consumption ofthe wireless sensor is high.

Step 101: when at least one physiological parameter is not detected bythe wireless sensor within the first predetermined time period,automatically controlling the wireless sensor to switch from the normaloperating mode to a low power consumption mode.

Under the low power consumption mode, one or more of the core functionsof the wireless sensor are turned off, so that the wireless sensorconsume less power under the low power consumption mode.

In this embodiment, when at least one physiological parameter is notdetected, the wireless sensor is automatically controlled to switch fromthe normal operating mode to the low power consumption mode. In otherwords, when the wireless sensor is not actually used, the wirelesssensor automatically enter a power-saving mode to save power. Therefore,without any participation or operation of a user, the wireless sensorcan automatically enter the power-saving mode, such that power is saved,thereby improving the user experience of the wireless sensor.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an operating mode switching method of anotherembodiment of the present disclosure.

Step 200: once a wireless sensor has entered a normal operating mode,determining whether a physiological parameter is detected by thewireless sensor within a first predetermined time period.

Step 201: when no physiological parameter is detected by the wirelesssensor within the first predetermined time period, automaticallycontrolling the wireless sensor to switch from the normal operating modeto a low power consumption mode.

Step 202: once the wireless sensor has entered the low power consumptionmode, determining whether the physiological parameter is detected by thewireless sensor at an interval of a second predetermined time period.

The second predetermined time period is a break period for collectingthe physiological parameter. Turing the break period, some powerconsumption functions of the wireless sensor are turned off, e.g.,functions of collection, analysis, transmission, etc., so that thewireless sensor is in a power saving state. When the break periodexpires, the functions of data collection and analysis are turned on todetermine whether the physiological parameter is detected. The wirelesssensor periodically performs physiological parameter detections underthe low power consumption mode, instead of continuously performing thephysiological parameter detections, and thus the power consumptionbecome low.

Step 203: when the physiological parameter is detected by the wirelesssensor, automatically controlling the wireless sensor to switch from thelow power consumption mode to the normal operating mode.

In this embodiment, when the physiological parameter is detected, thewireless sensor is automatically controlled to enter the normaloperating mode without any participation of a user, so that the wirelesssensor can be ensured to be normally used.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an operating mode switching method of anotherembodiment of the present disclosure.

Step 300: once a wireless sensor has entered a normal operating mode,determining whether a physiological parameter is detected by thewireless sensor within a first predetermined time period.

Step 301: when no physiological parameter is detected by the wirelesssensor within the first predetermined time period, automaticallycontrolling the wireless sensor to switch from the normal operating modeto the standby mode.

Step 302: once the wireless sensor has entered the standby mode,detecting whether the wireless sensor meets a first condition or asecond condition at an interval of a second predetermined time period.The first condition is a power-off condition, and the second conditionis detecting the physiological parameter. When the first condition ismet, step 303 is performed, and when the second condition is met, step304 is performed.

The power-off condition may include one or a combination of theconditions of: the duration of the standby mode exceeding a firstpredetermined duration, the power amount of the wireless sensor beinglower than a predetermined threshold, and the duration of not meeting apower-on condition continuously exceeding a second predeterminedduration.

The power-on condition may include one or a combination of theconditions of: a motion intensity detected by the inertial sensor isgreater than a predetermined threshold, a body contact is detected by abody contact, a change in ambient brightness detected by the lightsensor is greater than a predetermined value, a pressure detected by thepressure sensor changed, an audio signal detected by the audio sensorchanged, and a temperature detected by the temperature sensor changed,etc. The changes in pressure, audio and temperature are consistent withpredetermined modes, and, for example, the pressure is consistent with aforce curve when the person presses, the audio is consistent with apredetermined voice command, and the temperature is consistent with atemperature rise curve after contact with the body. Motion intensity canbe detected via an inertial sensor, for example, an MEMS (Micro ElectroMechanical System) accelerometer, a gyroscope, and a geomagnetic sensor,etc. An electric field sensor, such as a capacitive touch button, can beused to detect the body contact. A light sensor, such as a photocell, aphotodiode, a phototransistor, can be used to detect the change inambient brightness. A pressure sensor, such as a piezoelectric film, canbe used to detect the change in pressure applied on the wireless sensor,and an audio sensor, such as an MEMS microphone, can be used to detectthe change in audio change (e.g., when a voice command is input, audiochanges). A temperature sensor, such as a thermistor made from a PTC/NTCmaterial, a thermopile, can be used to detect the change in temperature,e.g., when a body temperature is detected, the temperature changes. Asdescribed above, the above sensors are used to perceive the user, thatis, to perceive whether the user is ready to use the wireless sensor.The above sensors are all power saving sensors which have a dataprocessing function, and when an operation by a user is detected, atrigger signal can be automatically generated to wake up a physiologicalparameter processing unit of the wireless sensor. Since the power savingsensor is used, low power consumption may be maintained under thestandby mode.

Step 303: automatically controlling the wireless sensor to switch fromthe standby mode to the sleep mode.

If the first condition is that the duration of the standby mode exceedsthe first predetermined duration, then when the first condition is met,it indicates that the wireless sensor is not in use by the user for along time, and therefore the wireless sensor can be controlled to enterthe sleep mode. If the first condition is that the power amount of thewireless sensor is lower than a predetermined threshold, then when thefirst condition is met, it indicates that the wireless sensor isoperating at an insufficient power level, and therefore the wirelesssensor can be controlled to enter the sleep mode. If the third conditionis that the duration of not meeting the power-on condition continuouslyexceeds the second predetermined duration, it also indicates that thewireless sensor is not in use by the user for a long time, and thereforethe wireless sensor can be controlled to enter the sleep mode.

The wireless sensor uses less power in the sleep mode than in thestandby mode. Therefore, by designing a two-stage power-saving mode,higher reductions in power consumption may be achieved.

Step 304: automatically controlling the wireless sensor to switch fromthe standby mode to the normal operating mode.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an operating mode switching method of anotherembodiment of the present disclosure.

Step 400: once a wireless sensor has entered a normal operating mode,determining whether a physiological parameter is detected by thewireless sensor within a first predetermined time period.

Step 401: when no physiological parameter is detected by the wirelesssensor within the first predetermined time period, the wireless sensorcan be automatically controlled to switch from the normal operating modeto the standby mode.

Step 402: once the wireless sensor has entered the standby mode,detecting whether the wireless sensor meets a first condition or asecond condition at an interval of a second predetermined time period.The first condition is a power-off condition, and the second conditionis detecting the physiological parameter. When the second condition ismet, step 403 is performed, and when the first condition is met, step404 is performed.

Step 403: automatically controlling the wireless sensor to switch fromthe standby mode to the normal operating mode.

Step 404: automatically controlling the wireless sensor to switch fromthe standby mode to the sleep mode.

Step 405: once the wireless sensor has entered the sleep mode, detectingwhether the wireless sensor meets a power-on condition. The power-oncondition is the same as that described above, and will not be describedhere again.

Step 406: when the wireless sensor meets the power-on condition,automatically controlling the wireless sensor to switch from the sleepmode to the standby mode.

In this embodiment, under different conditions, the wireless sensor canautomatically switch seamlessly among the sleep mode, the standby mode,and the normal operating mode. Therefore, not only can the user's needsbe met, but the wireless sensor can automatically enter the power-savingmode when it does not need to be used, thereby saving power.

FIG. 5 is a structural schematic diagram of a wireless sensor of anembodiment of the present disclosure, which may include a physiologicalparameter collecting unit 11 and a physiological parameter processingunit 12 connected to the physiological parameter collecting unit 11. Thephysiological parameter collecting unit 11 collects at least onephysiological parameter (hereinafter referred to as the physiologicalparameter).

In this embodiment, the physiological parameter collecting unit 11 mayinclude one or more collecting modules, and may collect one or moredifferent physiological parameters. For example, the physiologicalparameter collecting unit 11 may include one or more of anelectrocardiogram electrode, a temperature sensor, etc. Thephysiological parameter may include one or a combination of anelectrocardiogram lead, an electrocardiogram QRS wave, an oximetry pulsewave, a blood pressure pulse wave, a body temperature, anelectroencephalogram waveform, a cardiogram, a respiratory wave, arespiratory gas concentration change, etc.

In this embodiment, the wireless sensor can automatically switch betweenthe normal operating mode and the low power consumption mode. Typically,under the normal operating mode, core functions of the wireless sensorare all turned on, for example, functions of collection, analysis,storage, wireless transmission, etc., so that the power consumption ofthe wireless sensor is high. However, under the low power consumptionmode, one or more of the core functions of the wireless sensor areturned off, so as to ensure low power consumption under the low powerconsumption mode.

In this embodiment, once the wireless sensor has entered a normaloperating mode, the physiological parameter processing unit 12determines whether at least one physiological parameter (hereinafterreferred to as the physiological parameter) is detected by the wirelesssensor within a first predetermined time period; and when determiningthat no physiological parameter is detected by the wireless sensorwithin the first predetermined time period, the physiological parameterprocessing unit automatically controls the wireless sensor to switchfrom the normal operating mode to a low power consumption mode.

In this embodiment, when no physiological parameter is detected, thewireless sensor is automatically controlled to switch from the normaloperating mode to the low power consumption mode, i.e., when thewireless sensor is not actually used, to enter a power-saving mode tosave power. Therefore, without any participation of a user, the wirelesssensor can automatically enter the low power consumption mode, so thatthe power is saved, thereby greatly improving the user experience.

Furthermore, once the wireless sensor has entered the low powerconsumption mode, the physiological parameter processing unit 12determines whether the physiological parameter is detected by thewireless sensor at an interval of a second predetermined time period;and when determining that the physiological parameter is detected by thewireless sensor, the physiological parameter processing unitautomatically controls the wireless sensor to switch from the low powerconsumption mode to the normal operating mode.

The second predetermined time period is a break period for collectingthe physiological parameter. During the break period, some powerconsumption functions of the wireless sensor are turned off, e.g.,functions of collection, analysis, transmission, etc., so that thewireless sensor is in a power saving state. When the break periodexpires, the functions of data collection and analysis are turned on todetect the physiological parameter. The wireless sensor periodicallyperforms physiological parameter detections under the low powerconsumption mode, instead of continuously performing the physiologicalparameter detections, and thus the power consumption become low.

When the physiological parameter is detected, the wireless sensor isautomatically controlled to enter the normal operating mode, so that thewireless sensor can be normally used without any participation of auser.

The low power consumption mode may include a standby mode and a sleepmode. Once the wireless sensor has entered a normal operating mode, thephysiological parameter processing unit 12 determines whether thephysiological parameter is detected by the wireless sensor within afirst predetermined time period; and when determining that nophysiological parameter is detected by the wireless sensor within thefirst predetermined time period, the physiological parameter processingunit automatically controls the wireless sensor to switch from thenormal operating mode to the standby mode.

The physiological parameter processing unit 12 further detects whetherthe wireless sensor meets a first condition or a second condition at aninterval of a second predetermined time period, once the wireless sensorhas entered the standby mode. The first condition is a power-offcondition, and the second condition is detecting the physiologicalparameter. The physiological parameter processing unit 12 furthercontrols the wireless sensor to switch from the standby mode to thesleep mode when the first condition is met; and automatically controlsthe wireless sensor to switch from the standby mode to the normaloperating mode when the second condition is met.

The power-off condition may include one or a combination of theconditions of: the duration of the standby mode exceeding a firstpredetermined duration, the power amount of the wireless sensor beinglower than a predetermined threshold, and the duration of not meeting apower-on condition continuously exceeding a second predeterminedduration.

The power-on condition may include one or a combination of theconditions of: a motion intensity detected by the inertial sensor isgreater than a predetermined threshold, a body contact is detected by abody contact, a change in ambient brightness detected by the lightsensor is greater than a predetermined value, a pressure detected by thepressure sensor changed, an audio signal detected by the audio sensorchanged, and a temperature detected by the temperature sensor changed,etc. Motion intensity can be detected via an inertial sensor, e.g., anMEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical System) accelerometer, a gyroscope, and ageomagnetic sensor, etc. An electric field sensor, such as a capacitivetouch button, can be used to detect the body contact. A light sensor,such as a photocell, a photodiode, a phototransistor, can be used todetect the change in ambient brightness. A pressure sensor, such as apiezoelectric film, can be used to detect the change in pressure appliedon the wireless sensor, and an audio sensor, such as an MEMS microphone,can be used to detect the change in audio change (e.g., when a voicecommand is input, audio changes). A temperature sensor, such as athermistor made from a PTC/NTC material, a thermopile, can be used todetect the change in temperature, i.e., when a body temperature isdetected, the temperature changes. As described above, the above sensorsare used to detect whether the user is ready to use or is using thewireless sensor. The above sensors are all power saving sensors whichhave a data processing function, and when an operation by a user isdetected, a trigger signal can be automatically generated to wake up thephysiological parameter processing unit 12. Since the power savingsensor is used, low power consumption may be maintained under thestandby mode.

The wireless sensor uses less power in the sleep mode than in thestandby mode. Therefore, by designing a two-stage power-saving mode,greater power savings can be achieved.

In one embodiment, the physiological parameter processing unit 12further detects whether the wireless sensor meets a power-on conditiononce the wireless sensor has entered the sleep mode; and when thewireless sensor meets the power-on condition, automatically controls thewireless sensor to switch from the sleep mode to the standby mode.

Under different conditions, the wireless sensor can automatically switchseamlessly among the sleep mode, the standby mode, and the normaloperating mode. Therefore, not only the user's needs can be met, but thewireless sensor can automatically enter the power-saving mode when itdoes not need to be used, thereby saving power.

FIG. 6 is a structural schematic diagram of a system of an embodiment ofthe present disclosure. The system includes a wireless sensor and acharging station, wherein the charging station can charge the wirelesssensor. The charging station can be a wired or wireless chargingstation. In one embodiment, wireless charging is used to avoid problemssuch as oxidation, rust, and wear of a mechanical socket, and skinscratching and allergies, etc.

In addition to the physiological parameter collecting unit 11 and thephysiological parameter processing unit 12 connected to thephysiological parameter collecting unit 11 as shown in FIG. 5, thewireless sensor further includes a power supply unit 14, amulti-protocol communication unit 15, and memory 16. The power supplyunit 14 and the multi-protocol communication unit 15 may be physicallyindependent or may be integrated together.

The wireless sensor can switch between the normal operating mode and thelow power consumption mode. The physiological parameter processing unit12 automatically controls the wireless sensor to switch from the normaloperating mode to a low power consumption mode when the at least onephysiological parameter (hereinafter referred to as the physiologicalparameter) is not detected by the wireless sensor within a firstpredetermined time period under the normal operating mode.

The physiological parameter processing unit 12 further determineswhether the at least one physiological parameter is detected by thewireless sensor at an interval of a second predetermined time periodwhen the wireless sensor is under the low power consumption mode; andwhen the at least one physiological parameter is detected by thewireless sensor, automatically controls the wireless sensor to switchfrom the low power consumption mode to the normal operating mode.

In one embodiment, the low power consumption mode includes a standbymode and a sleep mode. When the wireless sensor is under the standbymode, the physiological parameter processing unit 12 detects whether thewireless sensor meets a first condition or a second condition at aninterval of a second predetermined time period; when the wireless sensormeets the first condition, the physiological parameter processing unitautomatically controls the wireless sensor to switch from the standbymode to the sleep mode; and when the wireless sensor meets the secondcondition, the physiological parameter processing unit automaticallycontrols the wireless sensor to switch from the standby mode to thenormal operating mode, wherein the first condition is a power-offcondition, and the second condition is detecting the physiologicalparameter. The specific description of the first condition is the sameas the above description, and will not be reiterated here.

The physiological parameter processing unit 12 may further automaticallycontrol the wireless sensor to switch from the sleep mode to the standbymode when the wireless sensor detects the power-on condition satisfiedunder the sleep mode. The specific description of the power-on conditionis the same as the above description, and will not be reiterated here.

The multi-protocol communication unit 15 can support a firstcommunication protocol and a second communication protocol. In thisembodiment, the first communication protocol is a low-speed, standardprotocol, and the second communication protocol is a high-speed,non-standard protocol. The low-speed, standard protocol can be theBluetooth 4.0 power saving protocol, the ZigBee protocol, and the ANT+protocol, etc. The low-speed, standard protocol is suitable for aperiodic and continuous data transmission. Therefore, in general, thecommunication mode of the wireless sensor is the low-speed, standardprotocol to enable a normal communication with a smart device, such as,for example, a smart phone, a tablet, and a personal digital assistant.The high-speed, non-standard protocol is simple, efficient, andlow-cost, but has poor protocol compatibility, so that it can only bedirectly connected to limited devices, and is suitable for transmittinglarge amounts of data in a short time period. In this embodiment, thewireless sensor can establish a communication connection with thecharging station over the high-speed, non-standard protocol.

The charging station may include a central processing unit 23, a powersupply unit 24, a first communication unit 25, and a secondcommunication unit 26. The power supply unit 24 is typically a modulethat combines charging and discharging together to provide power for thewireless sensor. The first communication unit 25 can support the secondcommunication protocol, i.e., the high-speed, non-standard protocol. Thecommunication connection is established between the wireless sensor andthe charging station over the high-speed, non-standard protocol. Thehigh-speed, non-standard protocol is typically set by the manufacturer.The second communication unit 26 can support the third communicationprotocol. In this embodiment, the third communication protocol is thehigh-speed, non-standard protocol. The communication under thehigh-speed standard protocol can be via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB, opticalfiber, Ethernet, 3G/4G/5G, etc., and can be in communication with asmart device such as a smart phone and a tablet, a Wi-Fi hotspot, and amobile base station, etc.

In this embodiment, when detecting that the power supply unit 14 canacquire power from the charging station (i.e., the wireless sensor is ina charged state), the physiological parameter processing unit 12automatically controls the multi-protocol communication unit 15 toswitch the communication protocol of the wireless sensor from thelow-speed, standard protocol to the high-speed, non-standard protocol.After switching the communication protocol of the wireless sensor to thehigh-speed, non-standard protocol, the wireless sensor can establish thecommunication connection with the charging station.

The physiological parameter processing unit 12 further transfer datastored in the memory 16 to the charging station over the high-speed,non-standard protocol when detecting that the wireless sensorestablishes the communication connection with the charging station. Thestored data are typically physical parameters.

After switching the communication protocol of the wireless sensor to thehigh-speed, non-standard protocol, the communication connection may notbe established successfully between the wireless sensor and the chargingstation for reasons, e.g., too much interference. Therefore, when thewireless sensor fails to establish a communication connection with thecharging station within a predetermined time period, the physiologicalparameter processing unit 12 restarts to enable the communicationconnection.

If the wireless sensor is charged wirelessly, during charging, arelative position of the wireless sensor and the charging station can beadjusted, and a transmitting end of the wireless sensor is moved closeto a receiving end of the charging station as much as possible.Therefore, during data transmission, the data transmission can beperformed with low transmission power, so as to avoid crosstalk.

Typically, the wireless sensor is generally charged when the wirelesssensor has insufficient power. Typically, the wireless sensors generallyenter the low power consumption mode when insufficient power isdetected. Therefore, when the communication connection is establishedwith the charging station for data transmission, the operating mode ofthe wireless sensor is switched to the normal operating mode to enabledata transmission. It is also possible to charge the wireless sensorwhen the wireless sensor is in the normal operating mode. In this case,when it is detected that the wireless sensor is in the charged state,the switching of the communication modes, the determination of thecommunication connection with the charging station, and the transferringof the data to the charging station after establishing the communicationconnection can also be performed.

After the central processing unit 23 of the charging station receivesthe data from the wireless sensor, it can transfer the received data toan external device via the second communication unit 26 (i.e., thehigh-speed, standard protocol), wherein the external device can be acloud server, a smart device, etc. The central processing unit 23 mayfirst buffer the received data, and after the data transfer is finished,transfer the buffered data out, or it may also not buffer the data, butimmediately transfers the data out after receiving the data.

At the end of use, much of the power will have been consumed, and thewireless sensor needs to be charged. After the use is finished, thewireless sensor itself buffers a large amount of data. In thisembodiment, during charging, the buffered data can be automaticallytransferred out by means of the charging station without anyparticipation of a user, thereby greatly facilitating the use of thewireless sensor, and further improving the user experience. On the otherhand, compared with the wireless sensor transferring the buffered datato a smart terminal over the low-speed, standard protocol in the priorart, the present embodiment can complete the data transmission faster byusing the high-speed, non-standard protocol to transfer the buffereddata to the charging station.

Furthermore, the physiological parameter processing unit 12 switches thecommunication protocol of the wireless sensor from the high-speed,non-standard protocol to the low-speed, standard protocol when detectingthat the wireless sensor meets the switching condition.

The switching condition may include at least one of the followingconditions:

the physiological parameter processing unit 12 switches thecommunication protocol of the wireless sensor from the high-speed,non-standard protocol to the low-speed, standard protocol when thewireless sensor has completed the data transmission;

the physiological parameter processing unit 12 switches thecommunication protocol of the wireless sensor from the high-speed,non-standard protocol to the low-speed, standard protocol when thecommunication connection between the wireless sensor and the chargingstation is interrupted, and

the physiological parameter processing unit 12 switches thecommunication protocol of the wireless sensor from the high-speed,non-standard protocol to the low-speed, standard protocol when thewireless sensor fails to acquire power from the charging station(charging is no longer performed).

When the switching condition is met, it indicates that the datatransmission is finished or the data transmission cannot be performed.At this time, the communication mode is automatically switched to thelow-speed, standard protocol used under a normal condition withoutmanually switching by the user, so as to facilitate the use of thewireless sensor by the user again.

Described above are various embodiments of the present disclosure, andit should be noted that a person of ordinary skill in the art could alsomake some improvements and modifications without departing from theprinciples of the present disclosure and these improvements andmodifications would all fall within the scope of protection of theclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of switching an operating mode of a wireless sensor, the method comprising: once the wireless sensor has entered a normal operating mode, determining whether at least one physiological parameter is detected by the wireless sensor within a first predetermined time period; and when the at least one physiological parameter is not detected by the wireless sensor within the first predetermined time period, automatically controlling the wireless sensor to switch from the normal operating mode to a low power consumption mode.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: once the wireless sensor has entered the low power consumption mode, determining whether the at least one physiological parameter is detected by the wireless sensor at an interval of a second predetermined time period; and when the at least one physiological parameter is detected by the wireless sensor, automatically controlling the wireless sensor to switch from the low power consumption mode to the normal operating mode.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the low power consumption mode comprises a standby mode and a sleep mode; when the at least one physiological parameter is not detected by the wireless sensor within the first predetermined time period, automatically controlling the wireless sensor to switch from the normal operating mode to the low power consumption mode comprises: when the at least one physiological parameter is not detected by the wireless sensor within the first predetermined time period, automatically controlling the wireless sensor to switch from the normal operating mode to the standby mode.
 4. The method of claim 3, further comprising: once the wireless sensor has entered the standby mode, detecting whether the wireless sensor meets a first condition or a second condition at an interval of a second predetermined time period, wherein the first condition is a power-off condition, and the second condition is detecting the at least one physiological parameter; when the wireless sensor meets the first condition, automatically controlling the wireless sensor to switch from the standby mode to the sleep mode; and when the wireless sensor meets the second condition, automatically controlling the wireless sensor to switch from the standby mode to the normal operating mode.
 5. The method of claim 4, further comprising: once the wireless sensor has entered the sleep mode, detecting whether the wireless sensor meets a power-on condition; and when the wireless sensor meets the power-on condition, automatically controlling the wireless sensor to switch from the sleep mode to the standby mode.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the power-on condition comprises at least one of the conditions of: detecting that a motion intensity is greater than a predetermined threshold, detecting a body contact, detecting that a change in ambient brightness is greater than a predetermined value, detecting a change in pressure, detecting a change in audio, and detecting a change in temperature.
 7. A wireless sensor, comprising: a physiological parameter collecting unit; and a physiological parameter processing unit connected to the physiological parameter collecting unit, the physiological parameter collecting unit for collecting at least one physiological parameter, wherein the physiological parameter processing unit performs the following steps: once the wireless sensor has entered a normal operating mode, determining whether at least one physiological parameter is detected by the wireless sensor within a first predetermined time period; and when the at least one physiological parameter is not detected by the wireless sensor within the first predetermined time period, automatically controlling the wireless sensor to switch from the normal operating mode to a low power consumption mode.
 8. The wireless sensor of claim 7, wherein the physiological parameter processing unit further performs the following steps: once the wireless sensor has entered the low power consumption mode, determining whether the at least one physiological parameter is detected by the wireless sensor at an interval of a second predetermined time period; and when the at least one physiological parameter is detected by the wireless sensor, automatically controlling the wireless sensor to switch from the low power consumption mode to the normal operating mode.
 9. The wireless sensor of claim 7, wherein the low power consumption mode comprises a standby mode and a sleep mode; when determining that the at least one physiological parameter is detected by the wireless sensor within the first predetermined time period, the physiological parameter processing unit automatically controlling the wireless sensor to switch from the normal operating mode to the low power consumption mode comprises: when determining that the at least one physiological parameter is detected by the wireless sensor within the first predetermined time period, the physiological parameter processing unit automatically controlling the wireless sensor to switch from the normal operating mode to the standby mode; and the physiological parameter processing unit further performs the following steps: once the wireless sensor has entered the standby mode, detecting whether the wireless sensor meets a first condition or a second condition at an interval of a second predetermined time period, wherein the first condition is a power-off condition, and the second condition is detecting the at least one physiological parameter; and when the wireless sensor meets the first condition, controlling the wireless sensor to switch from the standby mode to the sleep mode; and when the wireless sensor meets the second condition, automatically controlling the wireless sensor to switch from the standby mode to the normal operating mode.
 10. The wireless sensor of claim 9, wherein the physiological parameter processing unit further performs the following steps: once the wireless sensor has entered the sleep mode, detecting whether the wireless sensor meets a power-on condition; and when the wireless sensor meets the power-on condition, automatically controlling the wireless sensor to switch from the sleep mode to the standby mode.
 11. The wireless sensor of claim 10, further comprising at least one of: an inertial sensor, an electric field sensor, a light sensor, a pressure sensor, an audio sensor, and a temperature sensor; and the power-on condition comprises at least one of the following conditions: a motion intensity detected by the inertial sensor is greater than a predetermined threshold, a body contact is detected by the electric field sensor, a change in ambient brightness is detected by the light sensor, a pressure detected by the pressure sensor changed, an audio signal detected by the audio sensor changed, and a temperature detected by the temperature sensor changed.
 12. The wireless sensor of any one of claim 7, further comprising a power supply unit, a multi-protocol communication unit, and a memory, wherein the multi-protocol communication unit supports a first communication protocol and a second communication protocol, and the physiological parameter processing unit automatically controls the multi-protocol communication unit to switch a communication protocol from the first communication protocol to the second communication protocol when detecting that the power supply unit can acquire power from a charging station, and transfers data stored in the memory to the charging station over the second communication protocol when detecting that the wireless sensor establishes a communication connection with the charging station.
 13. The wireless sensor of claim 12, wherein the physiological parameter processing unit switches the communication protocol of the wireless sensor from the second communication protocol to the first communication protocol when detecting that the wireless sensor meets a switching condition.
 14. The wireless sensor of claim 13, wherein the switching condition comprises at least one of the following conditions: the wireless sensor has completed data transmission, the communication connection between the wireless sensor and the charging station is interrupted, and the wireless sensor fails to acquire power from the charging station.
 15. A system comprising: a wireless sensor, which automatically switches from the normal operating mode to a low power consumption mode when the wireless sensor determines that, under a normal operating mode, the at least one physiological parameter is not detected within a first predetermined time period; wherein the wireless sensor, supporting a first communication protocol and a second communication protocol, automatically switches a communication protocol from the first communication protocol to the second communication protocol when detecting that power can be acquired from a charging station under the normal operating mode or the low power consumption mode, and transfers stored data to the charging station over the second communication protocol when establishing a communication connection with the charging station; and wherein the charging station, supporting the second communication protocol and a third communication protocol, once having established the communication connection with the wireless sensor over the second communication protocol, receives the data transferred by the wireless sensor, and transfers the received data to an external electronic device over the third communication protocol.
 16. The system of claim 15, further comprising: when the wireless sensor is under the low power consumption mode, the wireless sensor determines whether the at least one physiological parameter is detected at an interval of a second predetermined time period; and when the at least one physiological parameter is detected, automatically switching from the low power consumption mode to the normal operating mode, wherein the low power consumption mode comprises a standby mode and a sleep mode; and when the wireless sensor is under the standby mode, detecting whether a first condition or a second condition is met at an interval of the second preset time period, and when the first condition is met, automatically switching from the standby mode into the sleep mode; and when the second condition is met, automatically switching from the standby mode into the normal operating mode, wherein the first condition is a power-off condition, and the second condition is detecting the at least one physiological parameter; and when the wireless sensor detecting that the power-on condition is met under the sleep mode, the wireless sensor automatically switches from the sleep mode into the standby mode.
 17. The system of claim 16, wherein the wireless sensor further comprises at least one of: an inertial sensor, an electric field sensor, a light sensor, a pressure sensor, an audio sensor, and a temperature sensor; and the power-on condition comprises at least one of the following conditions: a motion intensity detected by the inertial sensor is greater than a predetermined threshold, a body contact is detected by the electric field sensor, a change in ambient brightness detected by the light sensor is greater than a predetermined value, a pressure detected by the pressure sensor changed, an audio signal detected by the audio sensor changed, and a temperature detected by the temperature sensor changed.
 18. The system of claim 15, wherein the wireless sensor switches the communication protocol from the second communication protocol to the first communication protocol when the wireless sensor meets the switching condition.
 19. The system of claim 18, wherein the switching condition comprises at least one of the following conditions: the wireless sensor has completed data transmission, the communication connection between the wireless sensor and the charging station is interrupted, and the wireless sensor fails to acquire power from the charging station. 